1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information presentation apparatus and method to effectively present a hyper text or three-dimensional CG (Computer Graphic) in connection with other information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, thanks to the spread of Internet, everyone can access various kinds of information in the world using a personal computer or work station. A browser such as Mosaic can present the information contained in a home page on the WWW (World Wide Web). Most information on the home page is contained in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), which presents text, sound, still images and dynamic images. A specific feature of HTML is the hyperlink function which connects the presented information with other information. Using the hyperlink function, if a user indicates or "clicks" on a word on the displayed home page, the user can view a detailed explanation corresponding to that word. To process three-dimensional data, VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) is used. The home page described by VRML presents a virtual space in a three-dimensional CG. VRML also features a hyperlink function of the three-dimensional data which connects a user with other home pages. For example, if an object in the virtual space is "clicked" on by a mouse, a detailed explanation about the object is displayed on the home page. If a door of one room in the virtual space is clicked on, the control of the display is moved to the VRML site which describes the three-dimensional data of the one room. In short, the hyperlink can connect various kinds of home pages in the world through a network.
FIG. 1 is an example of an HTML file of the prior art and FIG. 2 is an example of a VRML file of the prior art. The HTML file contains two-dimensional data such as text and still image, which are displayed as hyper text. The VRML file represents three-dimensional data, which is displayed as a three-dimensional CG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional CG represented by the VRML file in FIG. 2. In HTML and VRML files, the description includes at least one part linked to another file (another HTML file or VRML file). In FIG. 1, the address linked to other file is described in 8 line as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). If the HTML file in FIG. 1 is displayed as hyper text, the text "linked part" (Line 9) is displayed in a corresponding position of the description. When the user indicates the position of the "linked part" on display, the information of the linked URL is read from a file (another file). If the VRML file in FIG. 2 is displayed as a three-dimensional figure, a cone as a linked part is displayed as shown in FIG. 3. When the user clicks on the part of the cone on display, the information of the linked URL is read from the file in same way as shown in FIG. 1.
In related art HTML and VRML, if the user clicks on the linked part to display the related information, the computer connects to the linked address in the file. However, in the case where the computer is connected to the file over a network, a series of sequential transmissions is required to transfer the accessed information from the file to the computer. When large quantities of information are transmitted from the file, a longer series of sequential transmissions is required.
In the prior art, it is not possible for the user to view a summary of the related information before the related information is transmitted from the file to the computer. It is also not possible to create a summary of the related information or previously store the summary corresponding to the related information. It is not possible for the user to ascertain the data transmission rate or the quantity of data to be transferred before the related information is actually transmitted from the file. It is not possible for the user to select the kind of data to read from the file. It is not possible to read back the related information from the file while the original information is on display. Finally, it is not possible to combine the related information in the original information after the relative information is read from the file.
In short, in the prior art, it is not possible for the user to effectively present the related information. The information presentation apparatus of the prior art is thus unfriendly to the user.